U.S. Figure Skating Championship

[nisse]

I was just watching the US Figure Skating championship final performances and the performance of Johnny Weir (more like "weird"), who placed 3rd in the men's competition and is going to Vancouver was just disgusting!

:puke:

While technically excellent, it was a revolting gay piece of sh!t. :mad:

http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/ISU+Grand+Prix+Figure+Skating+Final+Day+4+MQAa3SU4 DKwl.jpg

Tanith Belbin and Ben Augusto (silver in ice dance) were both excellent technically and beautiful to watch.

http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Olympic+Media+Summit+Day+3+PbZhfjCMD3Tl.jpg

P.S. Someone might want to post Tanith Belbin in the Beautiful Women thread. ;) She's both beautiful and very accomplished.

http://espn.go.com/i/editorial/2006/0502/photo/tanith_belbin_closeup_195.jpg

Of the 3 winners in the womens event I actually thought the third place holder (Ashley Wagner) was the strongest, based on the exhibition performances, and the Champion (Rachel Flatt) was actually my least favourite :ohwell:.

Mens Champion Jeremy Abbot Definitely deserved it. His exhibition performance was great! :D

[Eldritch]

I was just watching the US Figure Skating championship final performances and the performance of Johnny Weir (more like "weird"), who placed 3rd in the men's competition and is going to Vancouver was just disgusting!

:puke:

While technically excellent, it was a revolting gay piece of sh!t. :mad:

http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/ISU+Grand+Prix+Figure+Skating+Final+Day+4+MQAa3SU4 DKwl.jpg



Well, what was it that was so bad about it? Believe it or not, men's figure skating is not a sport I follow very closely ( :p ), but I Googled some pictures of this guy and I must admit that just looking at them kind of hurts.

*** *** ***

The Euro championships in Tallinn, Estonia, just ended. I don't really know how to judge the performances or anything (I wish I did), but it sure makes for some beautiful eye candy, at least.

http://yle.fi/ecepic/neon3/archive/00273/Taitoluistelu_Laura_273311b.jpg
From left to right: Laura Lepistö (Finland), Carolina Kostner (Italy) and Elene Gedenashvili (Georgia).


Italy's Carolina Kostner won her third European figure skating gold in Tallinn on Saturday with a total of 173.46 points. Finland's defending champion, Laura Lepistö, who placed third in the short programme on Friday, skated into second place in the long freeskating finale.

[nisse]

Well, what was it that was so bad about it?
It was oversexialized in a very distasteful way, and he looked like something of unknown gender in a bdsm constume :ohwell: Although that might be what people think *all* mens figure skating looks like, believe it or not, most mens perfromances are quite masculine :D

I appreciate that he probably wants to innovate, but why scare the children (and adults) while doing it?


Believe it or not, men's figure skating is not a sport I follow very closely ( :p )
That's actually something that's always puzzled me - Finland and Sweden are good at hockey but don't even make a dent in figure skating :confused:
You need ice for both, I'd assume people share :)


The Euro championships in Tallinn, Estonia, just ended. I don't really know how to judge the performances or anything (I wish I did), but it sure makes for some beautiful eye candy, at least.

http://yle.fi/ecepic/neon3/archive/00273/Taitoluistelu_Laura_273311b.jpg
From left to right: Laura Lepistö (Finland), Carolina Kostner (Italy) and Elene Gedenashvili (Georgia).
I wonder how they'll do in the Olympics. The American's were unimpressive, so they've got a chance...but the Chinese might just occupy all podiums. Them and the Japanese are usually pretty strong in womens :ohwell:

[Eldritch]

That's actually something that's always puzzled me - Finland and Sweden are good at hockey but don't even make a dent in figure skating :confused:
You need ice for both, I'd assume people share :)



Sadly, I shudder to think what the fate of a Finnish schoolboy who expressed an interest in trying figure skating, while in the rink with his classmates and his P.E. teacher, would be. :(

[nisse]

On this topic:



Aborigines offended by Russian ice dance
By TANALEE SMITH
Associated Press Writer

Ivan Sekretarev
Russia's Oksana Domnina, left, and Maxim Shabalin, right, perform their original dance at the ISU European figure skating championships in Tallinn, Estonia, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010.

An Aboriginal-themed routine by two Russian ice dancers has stirred up a pre-Olympic controversy, with some indigenous Australians blasting the "rip off" of their culture and Canadian native leaders worrying about the insensitivity of the skaters.

World champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin are doing an Aboriginal routine for their original dance - complete with brown-toned costumes adorned with leaves and white Aboriginal-style markings. Their music includes a didgeridoo riff.

In the original dance, couples can create any kind of dance that falls within an assigned theme. This year's theme is country/folk, and skaters are doing routines to everything from Indian music to country western to Moldovian folk songs.

"It's appalling," Bev Manton, chairperson of the Aboriginal Land Council in New South Wales state, said of Domnina and Shabalin's choice. "The whole thing was a poor effort. They could have provided more respect to our culture by doing more research."

Domnina, who won the European dance title with Shabalin last week, has said that they researched their dance by watching online videos of Aboriginal dances.

Manton, a member of the Womiri people, said Sunday she wasn't concerned by the idea that the Russians wanted to perform an Aboriginal dance as much as their inaccurate portrayal.

"I don't know why they wouldn't first contact Aboriginal people," she told The Associated Press. "I just think the whole thing is offensive."

In an editorial published in the Sydney Morning Herald this week, Manton scoffed at the whole routine - from the attire to the music to the dance steps. She said international interest in Aboriginal culture should be expressed respectfully.

"The ripping off of our art and songs is not (respectful), and nor is this depiction of my culture," Manton wrote. "Our dance, our ceremony and ... our designs and images have evolved over 60,000 years. We're understandably fond of them, and we don't like seeing them ripped off and painted onto someone's body for a sporting contest."

Online response to Australian media coverage of the controversy has been mixed, with some denouncing the routine as "distasteful" and many others suggesting the dance was a compliment and should not be a source of controversy.

"Get over it, have a beer, and chuckle at two dancers flailing about on ice taking themselves far too seriously," one reader wrote on the Herald's Web site.

The Russians missed the Grand Prix season because of Shabalin's knee injury, and unveiled the routine at last month's Russian nationals. The fact that they plan to use it again at the Vancouver Olympics has worried Canada's indigenous leaders.

Tewanee Joseph, CEO of the Four Host First Nations, told Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper he would like to meet with the Russian pair ahead of the Olympics.

"They are coming into our territory. They should feel comfortable here, but at the same time we want to educate them on our culture and we will encourage them to contact the Aboriginals in Australia before the Games," Joseph was quoted as saying Friday.